Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction: a homesteader's guide to the red planet? -- A preamble on space myths -- Part I. Caring for the spacefaring -- Suffocation, bone loss, and flying pigs: the science of space physiology -- Space sex and consequences thereof -- Spacefarer psychology: in which the only thing we're sure of is that astronauts are liars -- Nota bene: rocketry goes to the movies, or, space capitalism in days of yore, Part 1 -- Part II. Spome, spome on the range: where will humans live off-world? -- The moon: great location, bit of a fixer-upper -- Mars: landscapes of poison and toxic skies, but what an opportunity! -- Giant rotating space wheels: not literally the worst option -- Worse options -- Nota bene: space is the place for product placement, or, space capitalism in days of yore, Part 2 -- Part III. Pocket edens: how to create a human terrarium that isn't all that terrible -- Outputs and inputs: poop, food, and "closing the loop" -- There's no place like spome: how to build outer-space habitats -- Nota bene: the mystery of the tampon bandolier -- Part IV. Space law for space settlements: weird, vague, and hard to change -- A cynical history of space -- The outer space treaty: great for regulating space sixty years ago -- Murder in space: who killed the moon agreement? -- Nota bene: space cannibalism from a legal and culinary perspective -- Part V. The paths forward: bound for moonsylvania? -- Commonsing the cosmos -- Dividing the sky -- The birth of space-states: like the birth of space babies, but messier -- Nota bene: violence in Antarctica, or, happy endings to stabby starts -- Part VI. To plan B or not to plan B: space society, expansion, and existential risk -- There's no labor pool on Mars: outer space as a company town -- How big is big? Plan B settlements without genetic or economic calamities -- Space politics by other means: on the possibility of space war -- A brief coda on a rarely considered alternative: wait-and-go-nowhere -- Nota bene: amusing astronaut names and the Soviet tendency to fuss over weird details -- Conclusion: of hot tubs and human destiny.